


Penny Parker - Harassment

by WritersBlock_Liz



Series: Penny Parker 2020 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26180383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersBlock_Liz/pseuds/WritersBlock_Liz
Summary: Penny is on the subway when a stranger gets a little too close.Minor sexual harassment of a minor in this one, DadTony and protectiveHappyEnjoy
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Penny Parker 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900864
Comments: 9
Kudos: 289





	Penny Parker - Harassment

### Story Two: Harassment 

The last tune of the song faded away and got replaced by something more fast-paced and Penny hummed in excitement, nodding her head to the beat and singing along in her head.   
Had she not been in a packed subway car she might have actually sung along. But as it stood there were too many people around and her voice wasn’t exactly ‘sing in public’-worthy.   
So she continued nodding to the beat and daydreaming as the subway made its way towards Manhattan.   
She was headed toward the Tower for one of her internship-days in the lab with Tony.   
It was funny how their little white lie had grown into an actual internship at Stark Industries under Tony's watchful gaze.  
Now she spent three afternoons each week and every other weekend at the Tower to pursue her knowledge in everything that was engineering and coding and just in general tinkering on various projects with Tony.   
The subway took a corner with a bit more speed than usual, sending a couple of people stumbling, searching for balance but not Penny.   
With her feet firmly planted on the ground (thank you spider-powers) she shifted her body back into an upright position.   
The subway came to a stop and some people left and new passengers stepped into the car.   
A young man, early twenties, joined Penny by the poles, standing opposite of her.   
He smiled and nodded at her.   
She nodded back but then went back to scrolling through her phone.   
She selected a new song and looked up towards the electronic display that announced each station to check how far she still had to go.   
In doing so she accidentally caught the eye of the guy opposite of her and he smiled again at her.   
She shot him a hesitant smile back and immediately regretted it, when he smiled wider and tapped imaginary headphones on his head, a clear sign he wanted her to take hers off so he could talk to her.   
God, weren't headphones the universal sigh of ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody!’?   
For half a second, she contemplated whether or not she would get away with ignoring him but judging by the way he dressed and held himself he probably was not one to accept ‘No’ as an answer.   
At least there were people around in case things got ugly.   
She pulled out one earplug and raised an eyebrow.   
“Can I help you?” she asked, not rudely but in a way that hopefully conveyed a certain level of...disinterest?   
“Oh, I certainly hope so. I’m in dire need for directions.” he said with a gum-filled smile.   
For a second Penny almost relaxed. He was a tourist. He needed directions. She could do that. She scolded herself for being so judgmental.   
“Directions to where?” she asked, a more genuine smile now on her lips.   
“Directions for my number into your phone. And then maybe for you and me to go somewhere nice and private.”   
A disgusted shudder went down her spine. No, she had been right all along.   
“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.” she said promptly, trying to take a step back but the car was so full, there was hardly any space to move.   
“Come on, a pretty thing like you with a nice guy like me...we can have loads of fun.” he winked at her, clearly implying his true intentions.   
“Well, like I said...I’m not interested, I’m busy anyway. But I’m sure you can find someone else to have fun with you.” she objected.   
He stepped towards her, closing the gap between them that their bodies were now almost touching.   
More people stepped onto the train and Penny found herself being squished against this guy's chest. He was at least a head taller than her.  
“Well...you do seem interested now.” he said and she felt a hand groping her ass.   
Embarrassment, shame, anger and helplessness rose inside of her and she felt her cheeks burn.   
“Stop touching me.” She whispered. She hated how weak her voice sounded. She was Spider-Girl for Christ's sake! She had dealt with worse yet this guy somehow managed to get under her skin. Quite literally.   
“I’m not doing anything, there’s just no space to move in here, so unfortunate.” he said with a smirk and squeezed her ass again.   
She was painfully aware that she was wearing a skirt with no tights underneath.  
She would have kneed him in the groin but there was just no space. She felt completely helpless.   
“Leave me alone, stop touching me!” she said louder, hoping someone would hear, someone would see and help her, step in!   
As Spider-Girl she might have been able to do something but right now she was Penny Parker and this...something like this had never happened to her before. Sure, she had been catcalled and men and tried to get her number but nobody had ever touched her like this before.   
“I’m not doing anything, I’m sorry it’s just so crowded in here.” he said with fake sincerity. But she could still feel his hand travelling up her ass to her back and back down again, touching her bare skin.   
Tears threatened to spill over and Penny took a deep breath to settle her nerves.   
She gathered up her courage to speak out loud, to call for help but then the voice of the conductor spoke over the intercoms, announcing her stop.   
She almost sobbed with relief and began muscling her way towards the door.   
The guy's touch disappeared and she released a shuddering breath of relief.   
but then his voice called out behind her.   
“Babe, where are you going, this isn’t our stop yet.”  
She looked over her shoulder and saw him make his way after her, pushing past the other passengers, making disgusting excuses and calling her his girlfriend.   
The doors opened and then Penny was out but she knew he was behind her.   
She had to stay where people were, had to find someone who could help her.   
For a second, she considered activating the web shooters that were hidden in her bracelets and just web herself to safety, secret identity be damned. But she knew she couldn't do that.   
She spotted two young women, maybe twenty-five or so, exiting one of the other compartments together and walking towards the exit. Walking towards her.   
Her decision made, she put on a fake smile and started waving and walking towards the two women.   
“Oh my god hi, Vanessa, Karrie!” she called out and fell the first of the two around the neck.   
She could feel her tense up but before she or her friend could say something, she whispered: “Please help me, there is this creepy guy who grabbed my ass on the train and is now following me and I don’t want to be alone, please help!”   
For a second neither of the two moved or said anything but then the one she was still hugging exclaimed loudly: “Oh my god Anna, it’s so good to see you, I haven’t seen you in like forever!”  
Penny exhaled shakily and let go of the woman. “Thank you.” she whispered as the other one engulfed her in a hug.   
“Is he the guy with the baseball cap in a red shirt and white Bermuda-shorts?” she whispered.   
“Yes.” Penny whispered back.   
The two girls took her between them and started walking her towards the exit.   
The guy who had groped her stood by the ticket machine, watching her with narrowed eyes. For a moment she feared he would try and intercept them but they passed him and he did nothing.   
‘Vanessa’ and ‘Karrie’ meanwhile started talking about something random and Penny gave fake answers to their questions as they walked.   
“He’s following us.” ‘Karrie’ muttered as they entered the street.   
Penny didn’t dare look over her shoulder.   
“Should we call the police?” ‘Vanessa’ asked.   
“No. I work at Stark Industries. Maybe if you could walk me there...I’ll be fine from there on. Thank you so much for helping me.” she whispered again.   
“No problem at all. We girls have to look out for each other. You did the right thing.” ‘Vanessa’ told her and took her hand.   
“And we’d be happy to walk you to the tower. Or a police station. Maybe if he keeps following us, they can apprehend him.” ‘Karrie’ added cheerfully.   
“I’d rather just get to work. Is he still following us?” Penny asked.   
‘Vanessa’ pretended to check something in her bag and threw a sneaky glance over her shoulder.   
“I don’t see him. But that doesn’t mean anything, there's a lot of people here. Come on, let’s speed this up, I can see the Tower.”  
.  
They made it to the Tower and inside.   
Once inside, Penny let her two saviours to a seating area to one side of the lobby.   
“Thank you so much. So so much. I... that was scary and I didn’t really know what to do and... just thank you. Really.”   
‘Kerrie’ hugged her tightly. “Of course, it was our pleasure.”  
“Do you mind if I ask your names?” Penny asked.   
‘Vanessa’ laughed. “Of course not. I’m Jazz.”   
“And I’m Nuri.” said ‘Karrie’.   
“I’m Penny.”  
The three women looked at each other for a couple of seconds, before Nuri finally said, albeit a bit hesitant: “So... this is where you work? Impressive. What do you do?”   
“I’m an intern in the R&D department.” she explained.   
“Wow...so you must be really smart. What college do you go to?”   
Penny hesitated. “I’m not in college, I’m in High School. I go to Midtown Tech.” she admitted.   
Both Jazz and Nuri suddenly had the same expression on their faces.   
“You mean you are underage?” Nuri asked, as if to clarify.   
“I’m sixteen.”   
Both older women exchanged pointed glances.   
“Penny, honey I’m glad we could step in and help but you should really consider telling the police, especially if you’re underage.” Jazz said.   
Penny knew they were right.   
And while she had calmed down since the train station there was a part inside of her still angry and ashamed that some guy had managed to make her feel so afraid and insignificant and had dared to touch her like that without her permission.   
She was a superhero and had been reliant on the help of two strangers to get out of that situation.   
A part of her hated herself for it while another one tried to argue that there was nothing wrong with asking for help, no matter who you were.   
She sighed and looked up at the two women.   
“I’ll consider it. I’m still somewhat shocked and... I need some time. But I’m in good hands here and at home.”  
They were clearly not totally happy with her decision but they nodded.   
“Here, let me give you my number in case you need a witness or something like that.” Jazz said and punched her number into Penny's contact list.   
“Thanks.” Penny mumbled.   
Just then her phone vibrated. A text-message from Tony.   
>em>‘Hey Kid, where are you? Lunch is getting cold.’  
She shot him back a quick reply. _‘I’m in the lobby, calm down, I’m not even two minutes late.’_  
 _‘Still late.’_ came his answer.  
She smiled and shook her head. “I have to go. And I don’t want to keep you from your own plans. Thank you so much again.”   
They hugged and Penny waved them goodbye before making her way to the Penthouse.   
She checked her appearance on the ride up in the mirror.   
Her hair was in a disarray and her eyes were red-rimmed and she was paler than usual.   
She brushed her hair out until it was neat again and rubbed her cheeks to get some colour to come back to her face.   
The doors opened and she stepped into the main living area of the penthouse.   
There was a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen down the hallway, together with the sound of several voice chatting.   
She dropped her bag on the couch and kicked her shoes off before making her way to the kitchen.   
Around the kitchen table, obviously waiting for her sat Tony, Pepper, Morgan and Rhodey.   
“Penny!” Morgan cheered when she saw her and slipped off her chair and came running towards her.   
Penny bent down and picked up her little sister, swinging her up high and twirling around, making the little girl laugh out loud.   
“Hello Morgan!” she laughed, her mood lifting immediately, pushing her horrible encounter back.   
“There she is. Come sit down.” Tony said with a bright smile, gesturing at her usual spot at the table.   
Penny put Morgan down in her seat, pecked pepper on the cheek and hugged Tony before settling down next to Rhodey, who immediately filled her plate with pasta and sauce.   
And over the home cooked meal, the easy conversation and familiar surroundings, Penny almost forgot what had happened.   
Almost.   
.  
.  
Penny cursed, dropping the welding iron after she had burned herself for the third time. A glance at the cock revealed that it was already late.   
“You okay kiddo? Your head is not in the game…” Mr. Stark pointed out from where he sat at his own desk.   
Frustrated Penny buried her face in her hands.   
“Penny?”  
He came scooting over on his chair until he sat next to her. “Penny? Kiddo, is everything okay? Come on Underoos...this isn't like you.”   
With her head still buried in her hands she mumbled: “Some guy harassed me on the train today, touched me and...and then followed me here.”   
Whatever Tony had expected, this was not it.   
“What?” he asked tonelessly.   
She sighed. “There was this guy and he started chatting me up but I told him I wasn’t interested and... then he started touching me and followed me off the train and I got scared so I found these two women who helped me. But he kept following us and... I don’t know, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.” she whispered.   
“Where did he touch you?”   
She looked up, saw his stony expression and sighed.   
“He...he grabbed my butt. More than once.” she admitted.   
She waited, waited for him to...well...she didn’t quite know what she expected him to do.   
“Who was it? Did you get a name, a face? Let me hack the cameras on the train. What station did you get off? I can find that guy in a matter of minutes, FRIDAY, you heard me! retrace Penny's step from the Tower.” Tony growled, already on the keyboard, pulling up surveillance cameras.   
“Tony, stop!” she said, slightly mortified and overwhelmed by his response.   
He swirled back around to her. “Did he hurt you? Do we have to go to the Med-Bay? Oh my god, of course we have to, I’m calling Helen.”   
“Tony stop! I’m not hurt, I’m...I’m angry! Some guy had the nerve to grab my ass and there was nothing I could do!” she shouted.   
Silence followed her words.   
She got up and let out a wordless scream, her only way to somehow vent this angry frustration.   
She felt his eyes on her.   
“I’m sorry…” she whispered “I’m just...I don’t know what to do.” she admitted.   
Tony got up as well and stepped up to her. “I’m here for you. Whatever you want to do, I can help. If you need me to find that swine I can and I will. EDITH can help me.”   
Penny rubbed her forehead. “I know Tony. Thank you. But right now, I think I just want to go home and sleep.” she admitted.   
“But that guy…” Tony protested.   
“Is still gonna be there tomorrow. Please Tony...Today was not a good day.” Penny interrupted him.   
His face showed his displeasure but he nodded.   
“I’ll have Happy drive you home.”   
For once she did not argue, just nodded and went to gather up her things.  
“You know that it wasn’t okay what he did and that is your ever right to press charges, right?” Tony asked her.   
“Yes, I know that. I know what he did was sexual assault. I also know that without concrete evidence I can press charges as much as I want, nothing will happen because I don’t even know his name! And that is if the police even believe me!”   
Tony looked conflicted. He knew she was right. But at the same time, he knew, like she did, that that guy would just continue his ways if nobody tried to stop him. And next time another girl wouldn’t be so lucky.   
Penny knew that and it pained and angered her. But she didn’t feel like she could do anything.   
Her phone dinged.   
“Happy is bringing the car around. I’m supposed to meet him out front.” she muttered.   
She turned to leave but Tony pulled her into a hug.   
She immediately melted into his embrace and hugged him back. “I’m sorry.” she muttered.   
“No, don’t ever apologize for something like that!” he muttered fiercely. “This was not your fault and you’re not wrong for being upset!”  
She let out a shaky breath.   
“Thank you, Tony. Maybe... maybe tomorrow we can look at the tapes and... see if we can find him.” she whispered back.  
“Sounds good Pen.”  
She hugged him once more before making her way over to the elevator.   
.  
Outside it was dark and somewhat windy and because of that there were not a lot of people around as she waited in front of the Tower for Happy to pull up.   
She checked her messages, sending a text to May telling her she was headed home.   
Just as she slipped her phone back into her bag, someone stepped up next to her.   
She half expected it to be Happy or Tony but when she looked up, it was the guy from the subway.   
Dread pooled in her stomach and for a second, she forgot how to breathe.   
He put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close.   
“You know” he whispered in her ear and his breath reeked of alcohol “That wasn’t a nice thing you did at the station this afternoon. I was talking to you but you ditched me for those cunts.”  
“Let go of me.” she whispered.   
“Or what? There’s nobody here.” he sneered.   
His other hand, the one not around her shoulder moved to her face and wiped away tears she hadn’t even felt running.   
“Stop crying. I’m trying to have a nice time.” he growled.   
He began pushing her away towards one of the darker side-streets by the Tower. But her legs wouldn’t budge.   
“Move.” he growled.   
There was nobody here. No Nuri or Jazz, no Mr. Stark, no Happy...she was on her own.   
And when had that ever been a problem before?  
The anger returned, replaced the fear and she heard herself say: “No!”   
That took him by surprise. “What did you say to me?” he growled.   
“I said no, you pathetic piece of shit.” she growled right back and pulled herself out of his hold.   
He slapped her, hard and right across the cheek. It stung but the sting only helped to break her out of her stupor.   
“I swear asshole, this is the last time you will do this to any girl or woman.” she promised him.   
This time he punched her with his balled fist.   
She felt blood gush down her nose but she didn’t care.   
“Really bitch?? What are you going to do about it?” he asked and raised his fist to strike her again.   
She caught his hand mid strike. “So glad you asked.” she whispered, twisting his arm.   
The snap of bone and his scream cut through the night.   
He tried to get out of her grip but she kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him down. She kept a firm grip on his arm and kept twisting.   
He swung his other arm wildly and got a lucky shot elbowing her in the gut.   
Her breath left her and he managed to free himself.   
He kicked her and now she was the one on the ground, trying to edge away from him.   
“I’m gonna make you pay!” he shouted completely unhinged.   
But before he could do anything, he was tackled to the ground by something big and dressed in a dark suit.   
“Happy!” Penny breathed relieved when she saw the bodyguard but a knee between the shoulders of her assailant. He was out cold.   
Happy turned to her.   
“You good?” he asked, his voice frantic.   
She carefully reached for her nose and grimaced at the pain and the blood.   
But then she looked back at the guy and the pain diminished.   
She had protected herself. She, Penny, had stood up for herself. It was a good feeling.   
“Penny!”   
Her gaze shot back to Happy and she realized that she hadn’t answered his question.   
“I’m fine” she said and then louder she repeated “I’m fine Happy.”  
She got to her feet, swaying slightly. Okay, maybe not entirely fine but better than the asshole on the ground.   
.  
After that things happened very quickly.   
The police arrived, so did Tony and Pepper.   
They took her statement as she sat in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic checked her out and took pictures of her injuries.   
Aside from the broken nose and black eye she’d be sporting in a few hours there were some superficial abrasions and cuts along her hands and knees. Her skirt was torn and her blouse was bloody but all in all she had had worse and most of it would have healed by tomorrow.   
She observed Tony as he talked to an officer a few meters away while Pepper sat next to her, holding her hand.   
Tony had that unreadable expression on his face but his voice was hard and commanding as he told the officer what he wanted to happen.   
Things wrapped up quickly after that and Penny was escorted inside by Happy who had yet to calm down and sent people scattering with just one look.   
Once they were back in the penthouse, he made her sit on the kitchen island as he searched the cabinets for first aid supplies.   
“Happy?” she asked carefully.   
“I want you to call me from now on when you’re coming to the tower. I will pick you up, no matter from where. I will drive you from school and back again. You’re at Neds and you need to get home? I’ll drive you. Say the word, I will be there.” he growled, yanking open the freezer door in search of a cool pack.   
“Happy, I can’t ask that of you.” she protested as he handed her a fresh towel to stem her bleeding nose.   
“You will. This is non-negotiable. I’ll talk to Tony. Or maybe we can get you your own car so you won’t be forced to use the subway…” he continued grumbling about possible solutions, “Anyway, you’re my responsibility and I messed up your safety once, I will not let that happen again.” he added.   
Slightly fed up, Penny slid off the kitchen island and approached him.   
“Happy.” she said again, more firmly this time.   
He turned around. “What?”   
“This is not something you’ll be able to protect me from. The truth is...it’ll happen again. Maybe not like today but it will happen again. And not just to me. It’s happening to hundreds of women and girls right now. It’s disgusting and it makes me mad and I don’t want it to happen because in too many cases this ends deadly for the women involved. Take one of them off the streets and subways and there are still hundreds more to take his place. That’s a fact. But that doesn’t mean we’ll sit by just twiddling our thumbs. We did something today, you protected me today. Thank you for being there. But I cannot let this one guy change how I live my life. I’ll be prepared next time. I know what to do next time. As sad as that sounds...neither you nor Tony nor anything you are thinking of right now...will stop this from happening again.”  
He stared at her like she had grown another head but then he sighed in resignation. “Sadly, you are right.” he admitted, handing her a cool pack wrapped in a towel. She pressed it gently against her cheek.   
The cold numbed the throbbing pain in her face immediately.   
“But I’m still giving you extra lessons in boxing and self-defence.” he added. “No buts.”   
“I’d be happy to learn from you. Maybe we can do a course for the girls in my class? You know? Partner up with the school or something to raise awareness?” she suggested thoughtfully.   
“That's a good idea kid. I’ll talk to Tony about it. And now off to bed. I’ll call your aunt about what happened.”  
Penny nodded. “Thanks, Happy. Good night.”   
“Goodnight kid.”


End file.
